San Antonio assistant coach Ettore Messina will be the acting head coach in place of Gregg Popovich for Game 3 of the Spurs’ first-round playoff series against Golden State on Thursday, the team has announced.

Popovich’s wife of four decades and mother of their two children, Erin, passed away on Wednesday, and the 69-year-old is taking time to grieve.

The 58-year-old Messina has been a member of the Spurs’ staff since July of 2014, when he returned to the NBA after coaching CSKA Moscow. Messina is best known as a celebrated coach in Europe, where he won four Euroleague championships, four Italian League titles and five Russian League crowns as a head coach.

Messina has long been considered a top candidate for NBA head coach openings, and is expected to be in the running for several vacancies again this summer when the Spurs’ season comes to an end.